This looks like a fun discussion.

I've noticed that my particular style has evolved over the years. What I'm looking for in a fractal now isn't the same thing I was looking for seven years ago. For example, this page contains fractals I made in 1995 and 1996. Old, old images. Back then, I was more content with basic spirals and minibrots. I don't think they're ugly now, I just don't find them quite as interesting.

But now as I look at these old images I see hints of style that I think I've developed more in recent images. Spirals deliberately placed off-center. Looking for unusual shapes and framing. A lot of these are butt-ugly, but they're interesting.

After this pleasant stroll down memory lane, I took a quick look at the artwork I did after that. I was looking for more texture in my fractal images, so I experimented with post-processing. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. I started looking at new formulas. I found more interesting stuff, and I was getting better at things that didn't look like the same old stuff, but I was still sort of restless.

Then I hit what seemed to be the jackpot: new ways to color existing fractal formulas. Oh I had so much fun; everything was new, different, interesting. But I was, in a way, back in my rut: spirals and minibrots again.

It took me a while to get out of that rut. As in, years. It's oh-so-easy to find spirals once you know where to look. If I'm not paying attention, I'll end up with a spiral. Or a minibrot cluster. Especially when I make a new tool--I want to use it, so I'm in a hurry and I make a spiral. I end up with something rather ho-hum.

I still saw glimpses of interesting things, things that don't seem to fit the normal fractal mold. Things like "Liquid" or "Fear". Things to look at that don't immediately scream "fractal" but are produced with the same tools as more obvious fractal art.

Over the past few years, images that are less obviously fractal are among my favorites. It's not that I don't like classical fractals: I still do, very much. But would you rather put "Banded Clouds" on your wall, or "Thunderhead"? I chose Thunderhead, and a large framed print hangs in my living room. Most of my visitors don't even realize it was produced with mathematics.

I wish I could show you some of the other new things I've done but my new web site isn't quite ready yet. Only a few of the images I've made since 2000 have been posted in various forums. I did post one of the most interesting here at Renderosity, called "Abandoned". That's about as unconventional a fractal image as one can get. (smile)

I guess to make a long story short: yes, I sometimes get tired of the classical shapes, especially if I've just had to look through forty variations of the same spiral. Fresh is good. Unconventional images keep our imagination active. It's easy to get into a rut and hard to get out of it, but--if we consider ourselves artists--we owe it to ourselves to pry ourselves out of our ruts and do new, original work. We shouldn't stick with derivatives and variants on our old work.

--Damien